CXCR2–CXCL1 axis is correlated with neutrophil infiltration and predicts a poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background & aims Inflammation is a hallmark of cancer, yet the mechanisms that regulate immune cell infiltration into tumors remain poorly characterized. This study attempted to characterize the composition, distribution, and prognostic value of CXCR2+ cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to examine the CXCR2 ligands that are responsible for local immune infiltration in different areas of HCC tumors.